Flow control actuators are commonly used to control the flow characteristics of an airstream or other fluid flow. For example, airflow over an airfoil can be manipulated using flow control actuators to alter the separation location of the flow on the airfoil. There are numerous types of existing flow control actuators used to control some characteristic of an airflow. For many applications, a preferred mechanism for controlling an airflow is to use a synthetic jet actuator to expel a stream or pulse of air into the airflow at controlled velocities, frequencies, quantities, and locations. Synthetic jet actuators often use a piezoelectric disc or other mechanism to alternately suck air into and expel air out of a plenum, or air chamber, and into the ambient airflow.
However, due to limitations in the material properties of existing piezoelectric discs, the velocity of the air expelled into the ambient airflow is limited, which limits the effectiveness of a synthetic jet actuator using a piezoelectric disc when the velocity of the airflow to be manipulated is increased. Specifically, to increase the output velocity from typical piezoelectric synthetic jet actuators using existing actuator architectures having a single piezoelectric disc or two opposing discs, very high authority actuators are required. These high authority actuators require large piezoelectric discs that significantly increase the footprint of the actuator. Even with these configurations, one or two piezoelectric discs within a single synthetic jet actuator is often not sufficient to provide the desirable actuating flow characteristics for manipulating the ambient airflow in a satisfactory manner.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the disclosure made herein is presented.